Jacksonville’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in April as area businesses continued to report increases in their payrolls, according to data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area – consisting of Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties – fell from 4.4 percent in March to 4.3 percent in April, the department said.
The state agency does not adjust the Jacksonville data for seasonal factors but the University of North Florida’s Local Economic Indicators Project (LEIP) reported when it is adjusted, the jobless rate showed a slight decline from 4.5 percent to 4.47 percent.
The net size of the labor force in Northeast Florida dropped by nearly 4,000 in April, which can indicate workers looking for jobs became discouraged.
UNF economist Paul Mason said about two-thirds of people who dropped out of the labor force were likely employed, and the decline in the unemployment rate is a good sign that people are continuing to find jobs.
Non-farm businesses in the Jacksonville area reported a net increase of 22,800 jobs from April 2015 to April 2016, a strong 3.5 percent job growth rate.
The largest growth is coming in the leisure and hospitality sector, up 7.4 percent, and the construction industry, up 6.6 percent.
The only major industry sector in Jacksonville losing jobs is the information sector, which had a net decline of 100, or 1.1 percent, in the 12-month period.
Jacksonville’s job growth rate was better than Florida’s statewide growth rate of 3.2 percent. The area’s unemployment rate was also better than Florida’s statewide rate, which fell from a seasonally adjusted 4.9 percent in March to 4.8 percent in April, the Department of Economic Opportunity said.
Duval County’s unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 4.5 percent without seasonal adjustment, the department said, and LEIP said it fell from 4.85 percent to 4.68 percent after adjustment.
St. Johns County’s unemployment rate fell from 3.5 percent in March to 3.4 percent in April, without adjustment. The county has consistently had the second-lowest jobless rate in the state for much of the past two years but it slipped into third place last month behind Hamilton County, which dropped by a full percentage point to 3.2 percent.
Monroe County, at 3 percent, continues to have Florida’s lowest unemployment rate.